“What?” Buchanan asked.
“Signs of a struggle,” Tim answered for me. “Every room we saw looked normal.” The others who’d searched agreed that the rooms hadn’t been messed up in any way beyond the normal things that they’d all done earlier, like unpack a couple of things and wash their hands.
Trotted through the place. Never thought I’d find someplace that made both the Embassy and the White House Complex seem small, but here I was. Went into the room Colette confirmed she and Francine were sharing. It looked normal. “So, where’s the ransom note?”
“None of us found anything that would indicate a note was left,” Buchanan said. “And we were looking for one.”
“So, are we supposed to think that I just took a stroll? Would no one notice that I was gone?”
Vance shrugged. “It’s you. Would anyone assume you’d just stay put, even if you were told to?”
“No. But then why leave dead bodies in the hallway? That’s kind of a sign that things are amiss.”
“To create panic,” Leah suggested. “The knowledge that something is very wrong.”
“Maybe . . .” Something was bugging me about all of this, more than just the dead guards and Francine being missing. Wandered through the rooms and found the nicest bedroom. The room was pristine, so if Francine had been lounging somewhere, hanging out, she hadn’t been doing it in the room chosen as mine. My stuff was here, such as it was. One lone rolling bag. “Did you guys search this?”
“We opened it,” Siler said. “It was undisturbed.”
“Hmmm.” Hoisted it onto the bed and opened it. It certainly looked neat. Not that I had any idea of what had been in here prior—I didn’t pack my own bags often anymore. That’s what the Elves were for. Had a thought and stepped back from the bag.
“What is it?” White asked.
“No one touch that right now, and that’s an order.”
“Okay, why?” Reader asked.
“You know, way back when, during Operation Fugly, Christopher and I went to my apartment to get some of my stuff. Which ended up being the only stuff I’d have of my old life that wasn’t at my parents’ house, because not only was there a rattlesnake in my bed, but there was a bomb in my apartment.” Really wished we’d brought Prince with us. Realized it wasn’t a hard thing to get him here. “Um, I want Prince sent to us via floater gate.”
“We don’t need a bomb dog,” Siler said. “We’re all fast enough.”
“Possibly, yes. Probably faster than a cobra or whatever horrid venomous snakes are native here. And no one tell me, I don’t need or want to know. However, I don’t want Raheem’s palace destroyed. Nor do I want whatever message Cliff’s henchpersons left for me destroyed.”
“You’re kind of assuming a lot,” Jakob said.
“Yeah, I am. This is my skill. I may be the First Lady and the Queen Regent because of my husband, but I’m Megalomaniac Girl because of me. And I’m telling you that this reeks of a setup of epic proportions right now.”
“A bomb set off in your suite, with you nowhere to be found, would be highly suspicious,” Leah said.
“I could be around and it’s still suspicious. In fact, it would be better.”
“What do you mean?” Buchanan asked. “They’ve taken Francine, thinking she’s you.”
“Have they?” Considered things. “Wruck was with her, I’d bet. Because he knows these people far better than we do. And it’s a perfect way for him to get back inside.”
“What?” Siler asked, sounding shocked. “There’s no way he’s turning on you, Kitty. No way in the world.”
“Oh, I don’t think John’s a traitor. I think he’s braver than almost anyone realizes, and he’s also far smarter than he lets on, and I’m not insinuating that he makes anyone think he’s stupid. However, he spent decades digging in with the bad guys to try to find LaRue, end her, and usurp from within.”
“You think that whoever took Francine knew it was your double, not you,” White said.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Then why no signs of struggle?” Colette asked.
“Because we aren’t the only ones who made plans. I’m betting that Wruck and Francine had a talk about what they’d do ‘if,’ and then ‘if’ happened. Why struggle and risk being hurt? Why struggle at all, when you’re already Wruck’s ‘captive’ who he’s bringing in to Cliff in order to get back in with the old gang?”
“But why leave twelve dead bodies in the hallway?” Leah asked. “That makes no sense.”
“Sure it does. It lets us all know something’s wrong. And all those guards are Bahrainis. Meaning it’s easy enough to insinuate that Francine wasn’t kidnapped and instead shot them all and then escaped off into the city to wreak more havoc.”
“Who would believe that?” Mahin asked. “Why would you, if they think it’s the First Lady they’ve taken, or Francine, if they think they have your double, want to do anything negative here? You came here to gather everyone together as one.”
“I did. And all that it will take to light the powder keg that the Middle East always is would be for the U.S. mission to blow up any part of one of Bahrain’s palaces.” Considered things some more. “Crap. We need to ensure that there isn’t a bomb or a snake or both in my luggage. And at the same time, we need to get everyone out of the room where the religious leaders are.”
“Why?” half the room asked.
Managed not to heave a sigh, but only because I was revved up on rage and fear. “Because that room is going to blow at any minute.”
CHAPTER 61
TO MY TEAM’S GREAT CREDIT, no one argued. Not even Raheem. Definitely a smart teddy bear. No one panicked, either, which was also a positive.
Tim was texting and Reader was on his phone, calling in Field agents to arrive via a floater in these rooms. But the person who walked out of the floater first wasn’t a Field agent. Well, not anymore.
“Tim says you guys need the Flash and told me not to strain myself until I arrived,” Christopher said as soon as he was solidly here. “What’s up?”
“Nostalgia for Operation Fugly.” Pointed to the bag on my bed.
“Fantastic. Snake or bomb? Or both?”
“See, this is why Megalomaniac Lad called you. Both is my guess, but who knows? Poisoned darts and such are always a possibility, too.”
“Do you care what happens to your clothes and stuff?”
“Wow, Amy’s really made you a hell of a lot more thoughtful. No. The Elves can just get me more stuff. They might have a challenge recreating all the people, though.”
Christopher nodded, then went to the suitcase. “You all should leave the room, just in case.”
Field agents started arriving in the general living room area, so it was easy enough to tell the others to go with them. Reader had to tell them what to do anyway. We moved most everyone out, and I literally had to shove Buchanan, Len, and Kyle through the door, but White and I remained. It was his son, and this was Jeff’s cousin. The two of us weren’t leaving.
“Dad, you shouldn’t be in here.”